6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 3.2 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.3 |
When a film student wins an award for his artsy short, Hollywood comes calling and insists that he compromise his vision.
Starring: Kevin Bacon, J.T. Walsh, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael McKean, Teri HatcherComedy | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (256 kbps)
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 2.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Sometimes truth is stranger, and more interesting, than fiction. Sometimes the backlot is more interesting than the big screen. The Big Picture turns the camera around onto Hollywood for a superficially humorous but more deeply serious look at the life of a young filmmaker whose talents earn him recognition, but with that recognition comes an effort to tear down who he is and mold him into somebody else. It's a catch-22, Hollywood style, in a film where that marriage between a fictional person in a very real, and in many ways alien, world makes for fascinating bedfellows along a journey of not so much self discovery but rather self assurance. It's a film about how the industry can devour dreams, corrupt talent, and dissuade art in favor of commercialism and that magical formula between smallest budget and largest return. It's an interesting exposé disguised as a Comedy that holds up remarkably well, even now around a quarter-centtury removed from its debut.
This is a major award!
The Big Picture's Blu-ray doesn't reveal, well, the big picture thanks to an uninspired and out-of-date transfer. The image presents a moderately good foundational picture, with solid enough detailing evident on faces and clothes, but it's nowhere near as precisely refined and intimate as even second-tier catalogue releases. Image clarity satisfies, but textures are often flat and pasty. Grain retention is uneven, with spikes in places and an obvious smoothness in others. Colors aren't particularly vibrant, either, finding a bland middle ground where they hardly excel but not quite so dismally faded as to be unrecognizable. Black levels frequently push faded and purplish. Flesh tones struggle to maintain lifelike definition. Print wear and noise are commonplace. Overall, this is a passable transfer from Mill Creek that's around the quality expected given past studio performance and release pricing.
The Big Picture's Blu-ray soundtrack conveys basic information, no more and no less. The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is about as minimalist as they come, presenting a center-imaged listen with zero range and only basic definition. Music is cramped up the middle and lacks all but the most simple clarity from top to bottom and plays with, obviously no surround or low end support. Ambient effects -- chatty patrons and clanking silverware at a restaurant -- present with little attention to detail or immersion beyond the raw elements. Dialogue at least comes through with decent enough definition and detail.
This Blu-ray release of The Big Picture contains no supplemental content.
The recent Sony e-mail hacking scandal shined a bright light on the way Hollywood works behind the scenes with drama broader in scope and much more significant than most movies will ever see. The Big Picture isn't on that scale, and it's not real, but it strives to offer a glimpse into how the system works, how movies get made, how the very real people on the lower rungs of the business are worked by those hovering around the top. The film covers its bleakness with a humor that punctuates the story and actors who are fully onboard with the film's unique approach to what is, at its core, a fairly dark story. Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of The Big Picture features mediocre video and merely passable audio. No extras are included. It's a bargain release and only the film's quality helps ease the blow of an otherwise forgettable Blu-ray. Recommended for the movie only.
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